Baylor wins its first league title in 71 years
The No. 3 Bears clinch the Big 12 with a 94-89 overtime victory at No. 6 West Virginia.
No. 3 Baylor 94,
No. 6 West Virginia 89 (OT)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jared Butler scored 25 points before fouling out, Davion Mitchell hit the go-ahead basket in overtime and Baylor beat West Virginia on Tuesday to clinch the Bears’ first Big 12 regular-season championship.
Baylor (19-1, 11-1 Big 12) bounced back in a big way from its only loss of the season at No. 13 Kansas on Saturday. The Bears struggled in their two previous games coming off a nearly threeweek layoff because of COVID-19 issues in the program.
After managing just 58 points against the Jayhawks, the Bears maintained their energy and scoring touch until the very end against the Mountaineers (17-7, 10-5).
It’s the first conference title for the Bears since they won the 1950 Southwest Conference championship.
Men
No. 17 Oklahoma State 79, No. 16 Oklahoma 75
STILLWATER, Okla. — Freshman Cade Cunningham, the projected top pick in the 2021 NBA draft by many outlets, scored 13 of his 15 points in the final 10 minutes for the Cowboys (17-6, 10-6 Big 12) against the Sooners (14-8, 9-7).
Cunningham had 40 points in Saturday’s 94-90 overtime win at Oklahoma.
Syracuse 72, North Carolina 70
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Buddy
Boeheim had 26 points as Syracuse (14-8, 8-7 ACC) helped its NCAA hopes by holding off the Tar Heels.
Armando Bacot had 18 points and 15 rebounds for UNC (15-9, 9-6).
Saint Joseph’s 76, Richmond 73
RICHMOND — Taylor Funk had 22 points in the last game before the Atlantic 10 tournament as the Hawks (4-14, 3-9) snapped a nine-game road losing streak. Nathan Cayo scored a career-high 25 for the Spiders (13-7, 6-5).
The eighth-seeded Spiders will play No. 9 Duquesne at 11 a.m. Thursday in the second round at Siegel Center.
Big South quarterfinal Longwood 77,
UNC Asheville 61
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Leslie Nkereuwem had 18 points as fifth-seeded Longwood beat the No. 4 Bulldogs in a Big South quarterfinal, giving Norfolk Academy graduate Griff Aldrich’s Lancers a date at top-seeded Winthrop in a 7:30 p.m. Thursday semifinal.
Women
No. 6 Baylor 64, Texas 57
AUSTIN, Texas — NaLyssa Smith scored 23 points as Baylor (20-2, 15-1) locked up sole possession of the Big 12 title.
Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 15 points to lead Texas (16-8, 10-7).
No. 1 UConn 63, Marquette 53
STORRS, Conn. — Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 19 points and Aaliyah Edwards added 16 points as Connecticut (21-1, 18-0 Big East) finished undefeated in conference play for the eighth straight year.